faderift | I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

It was one thing to have Kirk so easily agree with a small joke at his expense, and another thing entirely for him to offer up what was apparently a present. And, given the look of confusion on Hermione's face, it was an entirely unexpected present.

"Christmas?" She paused for a few moments, trying to figure out the date. She'd become accustomed to using the Thedosian calendar, even if it had taken a bit of getting used to (she'd skipped over her own birthday entirely and hadn't realized it until nearly a week later), and Andrastians would have no reason to celebrate Christmas. But if she lined it up just so....

"I suppose it is close to Christmastime, isn't it?" she murmured more to herself, slowly taking a step forward and gingerly reaching out for the bag. "Thank you, Kirk. I'm sorry, if I'd realized-... I don't have anything for you...."

Kirk shook his head at her. "No it's all right. I did this out of the blue, I know, so I'm not expecting anything, really. I just thought - with everything that's happened, I had hoped this might make you feel a bit better."

Inside of the bag was a small packet of hard sweets he had managed to bribe the kitchens to give him, something like a cookie that he thought tasted more or less like a ginger snap. There was also a small, rectangular object wrapped in brown paper. Inside of it was a simple journal, the pages filled with notes about the planets he had visited.

The information inside of it was more analytical in nature, reading like an encyclopedia rather than the more storybook type he had given Sam. He knew Hermoine liked information and books, and after some of their talks, he had hoped this might interest her and take her mind off things.

Strictly speaking, both of those journals went against the Prime Directive to some degree, but he gave them no technological information, only information about other races. All things considered, even if they did tell others, most would take it as fancy and not legitimate. Therefore, he felt he could get away with it - if there ever came a need to defend it, of course.

"Well go on, open it."

Hermione always felt quite bad receiving presents when she didn't have anything to give in return, but it was also rude to turn down a gift, and so she managed a small smile as she gingerly knelt down in front of Kirk, making it easier for her to look at the contents of the bag. She was going to have to remember to ask around for his birthday, or find out when the next traditional Thedosian gift-giving holiday was. She'd managed to collect a fair amount of silver from doing research for Adelaide, after all, so it was hardly as though she couldn't manage to get him something nice.

Her smile broadened when she saw the sweets; she'd seen them before in the kitchens but had never dared to try them. That was the sort of thing that happened when the child of two dentists was thrust into a world with no form of dentistry. Or proper toothpaste. Or floss. But there was no excuse not to try them now that they were a gift, and so she was thankful enough for that.

When she got to the book, though, she'd at first thought it was a journal for her own use until she looked inside. It took reading a few passages, but she eventually recognized it for what it was, and she looked up at Kirk with no small amount of surprise.

"This is all true?" she asked needlessly. After all, it wasn't as though he would make up random facts about different worlds and jot them all down for her. "These are the places you've visited?"

Either way, she was genuinely touched, and she reached forward to offer him a hug. "Thank you, Kirk. You didn't have to do this."

That had been a problem, but Kirk had found work arounds. Toothpaste might not be a thing, but in general just keeping your mouth clean and rinsing seemed to do the trick. Clear alcohols too. They burned, but their sterilizing abilities worked just fine in the mouth as they did on wounds and instruments.

Her surprise at the contents of the book cause Kirk to laugh, his eyes and smile warm as he leaned forward a bit to glance at the pages she had stopped on. "Yup - all true, every single one." The new position put him in a perfect spot to receive her hug, and he squeezed her back gently.

"I didn't, but I wanted to. I appreciate all my friends here, and this seemed a good way to show it," he told her, leaning back. "If you have any questions about what's in there - and I have a feeling you will - you can come find me. I'll tell you what I can."

The planets varied from the highly advanced such as Vulcan and Andora to the lower Class M planets currently under watch and protection, like Nibu. He could have written a library's worth to encompass all his experiences, but for the sake of portability, Hermoine had the cliff notes.

Hygiene in general was difficult in Thedas, but Hermione had learned to deal with some of the inconveniences. She'd acclimated well enough to going from the Muggle world to the wizarding one, so that had made it a little easier to get used to a life without electric toothbrushes or mouthwash.

Not having her friends around had been harder to get used to, though, and Hermione was sort of glad that she hadn't known it was the holiday season. She would have felt that loss even more strongly, but at least now she had Kirk here, holding her, and reminding her that she wasn't entirely alone. At least, she wasn't as alone as she could be. He was the one who kept going from planet to planet, never quite settling; this all must be terrible for him, she thought.

"You're absolutely wonderful," she whispered softly, smiling at him as she kept her hands on his arms and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Kirk. This could have been a very lonely holiday, but I'm glad it didn't have to be."

Settling back on her heels, she looked down at her new book, flipping through a few pages before dryly remarking, "And I hope you know that offering to answer my questions can be dangerous. I might never leave you alone."

He kept planet hopping, sure, but he'd always had the constant of his people - his crew, his family. He was never alone, and his home was that ship rather than a blue marble. That worked just fine for him, and so long as he had good people around him, he was okay. Here he ached for his family, there was no getting around that. Ached for his home as he was sure many of the Rifters did.

"I knew that when I made it," he laughed, watching her with the joy of an older brother. "And I am prepared. I fully expect to have at least one afternoon taken up by you."

Hermione had never had a large family, but between Harry and Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, she'd never really had much of the chance to feel lonely for an extended period of time after starting school at Hogwarts. But the bond she had with Kirk was different, somehow; she didn't feel as though she was someone he turned to for advice or the right answers. Instead, he invited her to come to him for information, and that was... nice. Very nice. She could get used to that.

"At the very least," she told him, smirking just a bit. "But I'm not going to assume you have time enough today to tell me all your stories. Especially not when Atlas is clearly a bit peckish."

It was his natural inclination. He was a leader, a protector, and Hermoine seemed so young to him. It was one thing to come to her for answers on curios matters, for little facts. Quite another to need to lean on her, to need her to have answers for the deeper issues. Those, he thought, were not yet something she need be saddled with, and like any good brother he did what he could to protect her from that, or at least give her somewhere to unload the burden those things created.

"I might have time for one," he smirked, shoving Atlas' muzzle away again.

"I think Atlas would disagree," she remarked wryly, moving forward to kneel besides Kirk and reach up to gently pet at the horse. "But perhaps you can kill two birds with one stone before you end up with something of a bald spot at your crown. I can help you feed him, unless you think it would take away from any dramatic element you tried putting into your story for effect."

She'd just have to hide the sweets Kirk had just given her so Atlas wouldn't try and make off with her gift.

"Got some carrots for him? You might steal away his affections from me," he smiled, Atlas momentarily more concerned with Hermoine's petting than he was with Kirk's straw-like hair that did not taste like straw and was thus a disappointment anyways. "He's so easily swayed. My fault really - I spoil him."

"He's otherwise known as a beast of burden; I think he deserves to be spoiled."

Making her way up to her feet, Hermione made sure to carefully set her gifts aside before rifling through the messenger bag she had with her, one hand still absently petting the horse that was sure to be distracted at the potential of being fed. "I have an apple. It's not cut up, though, so you may want to slice it so he doesn't choke on the core." Smiling at Kirk as she fished out an apple and handed it to him, she told him, "At least that way he'll give you a bit of attention."

"Oh please, what burden does he look like he bears on a regular basis?"

Kirk looked up at his horse and shook his head at him. He knew what you were up to with this innocent act, sir, but Hermoine was enjoying it, so he wasn't going to spoil the moment. Just don't expect any sugar treats from him lately. Kirk held out his hand to Hermoine for the apple, tugging out a knife from a small sheath at his belt that he kept out of habit and utility now.

"You can feed him, if you like," he said. "Maybe it'll distract him from my hair."

"You, for starters." It was a light sort of teasing, but the fact that she could bring herself to routinely tease Kirk showed just how comfortable she really was with him.

Handing off the apple, Hermione used both hands to lightly pet at Atlas' mane, smiling up at the large creature that certainly had a personality of his own. She knew he was likely acting up because he was both hungry and because he was getting attention, but he was still tamer than a dracolisk, and so she'd gladly give him all the attention he could want.

"I don't think he'll go for your hair if you're offering up an apple. It might be a very nice head of hair, but he'll likely go for what he knows to be more edible."

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

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